Hey everyone! Sorry that I took so long! It's just that something went wrong with my laptop and suddenly I can't use it anymore. So everything, including my chapters, were all lost and I had to start again from scratch! I'm so sorry everyone! But don't worry, I got my sister's old laptop, which is still pretty good.
Happy President's Day everyone! Here is my gift to you! Enjoy!
Chapter 3: What Can I Say?
The next morning, at 6:30 a.m.
Hitomi's alarm rang out with such a loud noise that it hurt the poor girl's ears. She groaned as she reached over and turned her alarm off. She then pushed herself up, slowly opened her baby blue eyes, and gave out a very long yawn. The poor brunette haired girl had a hard time sleeping last night after what she had just learned. After Hitomi finished giving out her yawn, she recollected her memories of what happened last night. She wished that she didn't hear that sound she heard and wake up, or else nothing would have happened to her. Why did it happen?
Flashback, last night, around 11:30 p.m.
As Hitomi slept in her bed, she suddenly heard some noises that were coming on the other side of the bedroom door. She slowly opened her eyes and got up. She then tried to listen to the sounds, and realized that they were voices. They weren't really loud, but she could hear them for sure. One of the voices belonged to Hayate without a doubt.
"Is Hayate talking to someone?" Hitomi whispered to herself. "Who's he talking to? Why is this person here? And why didn't I hear the doorbell ring?"
As she was asking herself these questions, Hitomi slowly got up from her bed, quietly walked over to her door, and placed her ear on the door. This time, she could hear the voices a little louder than before. Quietly as a mouse, she turned the knob and opened the door. Then she tiptoed to where the sources were coming from, which was the balcony. Hiding behind a tall plant, Hitomi looked at the two figures she could see. Their backs were turned towards her and she could not see very well in the darkness, but she could tell that one of them was Hayate. However, she could not figure out who the person in black clothes was. As she was spying on them, she could hear their conversation.
Hitomi heard Hayate's voice as he said, "That's not the problem, Ryu. It's my feelings for her. I don't know how to deal with them. They're just so strong. But I know that things would never work out between us. I'm the leader of my clan, but she's just an ordinary girl. There's just no way a relationship like that will ever work. This is unbelievable, Ryu . . . Here I am, a super ninja, letting something simple as love ruining my mind, making me lose my focus . . . I just don't know what to do . . ."
She then heard his companion reply, "I . . . don't have an answer that will help you, Hayate. I'm afraid that you are the only one that you can find the answer to your question."
The girl's eyes widened, for she could not believe what she had just heard. Hayate was in love with her. She was in so much shock that she could not take it anymore. Without even trying to be anonymous and quiet, Hitomi darted for her room and shut her door. She climbed back into bed and covered herself completely with her navy blue sheets. As she laid there, Hitomi's mind kept on ringing with the same question over and over again throughout the night.
"Hayate . . . is in love with me?"
End of flashback
That same question still lingered on Hitomi's mind, and it has been bothering her throughout the entire night. But at least she knew how Hayate felt about her, and that he was experiencing the same dilemma she was going through. He knew that if they had a relationship, it would never work. He was the leader of his clan and she was just an ordinary girl. A relationship between them would never work. But what could she do?
Now that I know about Hayate's feelings for me, what should I do now? Hitomi thought. Should I tell him that I love him as well and try to find some way to make our relationship work, or should I try to get over it and move on? I don't know what to tell him . . . What can I say?
Hitomi turned back to her alarm clock and suddenly realized that she just waited ten minutes losing herself in her thoughts. She had not time to waste, for she and Hayate had to get to the dojo at eight. She quickly got up, hurriedly made her bed, grabbed her clothes and rushed to her bathroom. But then Hitomi slowed down as she looked herself in the mirror, and once again, her mind was filled with thoughts about what she should do now with Hayate. She unbuttoned her shirt and shrugged it off her shoulders, and then pushed down her pants, leaving her with only her black underwear on. As Hitomi looked herself into the mirror again, she brought her hands to her breasts and cupped them.
I can't get over Hayate at all. I love him so much. I don't want to fall in love with another man. I want to only love him . . . I want to give my body to him alone . . .
She then moved her left breast over, and her arm covered both of her breasts while her right hand moved down to her navel. She traced a small circle around her belly button before moving down to the top of her underwear. Her fingers slowly pushed their way under the garment and found their way to her soft folds. She pushed them in, drenching them with her fluids, until they found her sensitive bud. She traced circles around it, causing herself to moan.
As she continued to roam her hands on her own body, Hitomi unknowingly lost herself in deep thought again. She suddenly saw herself, lying nude on her bed, but someone who was also naked was on top of her: Hayate. He was kissing her like a mad man while his hands roamed all over her body. His right hand came to her left breast and grasped it, kneading and squeezing it and playing with her nipple. His left hand traveled down to her pussy and gently pushed his fingers inside. Hayate then moved his lips from hers to her neck, then to her chest, and then to her breasts. While his right hand continued to play with her left breast, he sucked on the nipple of her other breast. Hitomi grasped his red-brown hair and moaned his name over and over again, even when he moved his lips to her left breast and sucked on it like he did with her other breast. He then moved down, leaving a trail of kisses on her abdomen and circling his tongue around her navel. He then spread her legs apart and licked the folds of her pussy. Hitomi gasped as Hayate pushed his tongue inside of her and licked her sweet honey. As she arched her back, he moved his left hand under her and cupped her round butt. His right hand then moved up and played her breast. Her voice picked up in volume as his tongue licked at her sensitive bud. He then pressed his lips and sucked on it, causing her to cry out louder and louder. He then lightly raked the sensitive pearl and Hitomi gave out a loud moan before falling limp on her bed. After licking the last of her honey, Hayate moved up back her body and brought his lips to hers again. He then pushed her legs wider and positioned himself in between, ready to insert his penis into her pussy. And then . . .
Suddenly, Hitomi shook her head. How could she be having thoughts like that? She had to hurry and get ready. She quickly grabbed her black bra and snapped it on. Then she pulled up her blue jeans over her legs and put on her black tank top with a yellow eagle over her chest. She quickly brushed her teeth, washed her face, combed her light brown hair and placed her favorite pink headband. She then quickly turned her head to her clock and saw that it was almost 7 a.m.
Uh-oh! I still gotta make breakfast!
Hitomi rushed out of her bathroom and hurriedly opened her bedroom door. As soon as she stepped out, a delicious scent came rushing through her nostrils. She could smell sizzling sausages, flavored eggs and fresh pancakes, and it made her stomach girdle and her tongue swirl around her lips. As she came to her kitchen, Hitomi saw that Hayate was cooking at the stove. He was wearing a white apron over his grey long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Sensing that Hitomi was nearby, Hayate turned his head towards her and smiled.
"Good morning, Hitomi. I hope you slept well."
"Uh, yeah, I did. Thanks," she lied. She didn't want to let him know how sleepless she was last night. The last thing she wanted was him getting worried about her and suspicious about what she was doing last night.
Looking at the food he was cooking, she asked, "What are you doing making breakfast? I thought I said that I'll do the cooking."
Hayate calmly replied, "Look Hitomi. I know that I'm your guest here and you're trying to do all that you can to make me at home for as long as I am here. I don't mind that all. But if you do everything by yourself then I'll be sitting around doing absolutely nothing. You've got to let me do at least one thing around here. Besides, I kind of wanted to show you MY mad culinary skills."
Giggling at the joke, Hitomi sighed and nodded. As she sat at the table where two glasses full of orange juices were, Hayate took off the apron and brought two plates full of food to the table. After receiving her plate, Hitomi scooped up a spoonful of the scrambled eggs and blew on it, cooling it off a little. She then took it into her mouth, chewed on it, savored the taste, and swallowed. A bright smile was on her face.
"Mmm! This is so good!"
Hayate nodded. "Thank you. I'm glad you like it."
They continued on with their food and did not say anything anymore, as they were too busy enjoying the delicious taste. But after Hitomi gulped down her orange juice, she decided to ask Hayate about last night.
"So . . . you were talking to your friend Ryu last night?"
Suddenly, Hayate darted his dark brown eyes towards her baby blue ones and gave her a stern look on his face that frightened her. It was like he was suspicious of her.
"Yes, I was. I take it that it was you that was overhearing our conversation?"
All of a sudden, she jumped out of her chair and burst out in panic, "I'm sorry Hayate! I didn't mean to snoop around! I was just hearing voices outside of my room and checked! And then I came near the balcony and heard you and your friend! Oh god! Hayate, I'm so sorry!"
Hayate quickly got up and raised a hand to stop her as he said, "It's alright, Hitomi. Please calm down. I'm not angry at you. I just wanted to know if it was truly you last night. Now tell me, how much did you hear?"
"Uhh . . . I just . . . heard the part about your sister, Kasumi, and Ayane catching fish and your family having fish for dinner for weeks. That's the only thing I heard Hayate! I swear!"
Hitomi's stomach turned a little. She knew that she was lying because she heard Hayate confessing his love for her to his friend. She couldn't imagine what would happen if he found out that she knew about his feelings.
Hayate simply put his hand up to her lips to silence her and said, "Alright, Hitomi. Calm down. I just wanted to know what you have heard. I trust you, Hitomi. I know that you will not tell anyone about what's going on with my clan. I know you will keep my clan's existence a secret. Now come. Let's finish up here and get going. We don't want to be late, right?"
As he pulled away his hand, the brunette girl sighed heavily and nodded. Then they sat down again, finished their breakfast, and were out of the door and heading for the dojo in no time.
Around 5 p.m., outside the dojo
Hitomi and Hayate had another long day at the dojo, giving the children their lessons and setting them up against each other for matches. At the end of the day, after everyone else had left, the duo had the place cleaned up and closed down for the day.
As Hitomi fumbled with her keys, trying to find the right one to lock the door, Hayate was next to her and watched her. All of a sudden, his eyes were fixed upon her body, studying every detail and every curve. Her long, slender legs, her curvy hips, her small, slim waist, and her round, perfect bosoms captivated him. If only his hands could roam around every inch of her body. Suddenly, Hayate was overwhelmed with a lustful desire for her.
Hayate wanted Hitomi to be his alone . . .
He could just imagine it in his mind. He wanted to see her completely naked, exposing all of her body to him. Her legs wrapped around his waist; her arms around his neck; her fingers running through his red-brown hair; his hands kneading and cupping her breasts; his lips locked with hers in a fiery and passionate kiss. All of these thoughts were driving through his mind and driving him crazy.
But then, there was her womanhood. That made his mind dizzy from all of the lust. He wanted to lick her folds, dive his mouth into her pussy, smell the aroma of her honey and lick it, and then suck on her sensitive bud, bringing it to full bloom. And then, he wanted to claim her as his own. He wanted to thrust his penis into her pussy, letting her walls surround his length and bury him in her warmth. He wanted to hit that one special spot that will make her cry out in pleasure.
Oh how he wanted to hear her sweet voice, moaning his name over and over again.
"Hayate . . ."
He could already hear her calling out his name in his mind.
"Hayate . . ."
He didn't want her to stop. Just keep moaning his name over and over and . . .
"Hayate!"
Suddenly, Hayate shook his head and realized that he was daydreaming. Hitomi really yelled out with such a loud voice that it almost broke his eardrums. He turned to her and saw that she had a concerned look on her face.
She then told him, "I've been calling out your name for a few times and you didn't respond so I had to yell out to get your attention. Are you okay, Hayate? Is there something bothering you?"
The ninja silently cursed at himself. He was letting his feelings get the better of him.
"Sorry," he quickly replied. "I was thinking of something important and got caught up in my thoughts. Don't worry, Hitomi. Everything's fine now."
The brunette raised an eyebrow, questioning his answer, as she asked, "Really, Hayate? Are you really being honest with me? Are you sure that nothing's wrong?"
"I can assure you, Hitomi," he calmly answered. "Everything's alright. There's no need to worry about anything. If there is something wrong, I will tell you. I promise, alright? Now let's go back."
Hitomi heavily sighed. She knew that there was still something that was bothering him. He couldn't fool her that easily. However, she saw that it was pointless to try and make him talk about it at that point in time. She silently promised herself that she would somehow find out what was bothering him later. Hitomi quietly nodded to Hayate and headed back with him back to her apartment.
As the two of them walked on the concrete sidewalk, they did not talk to each other. They just continued on strolling through the passing crowd. But both of their minds were filled with thoughts and questions swarming through their heads. Hitomi was trying to figure out what to tell Hayate, questioning if she should inform him that she knew about his feelings for her and that she felt the same way as well. But she was hesitating, afraid about how he'll respond, that he would say that it wouldn't work. Meanwhile, Hayate was struggling on whether he should tell Hitomi that he loved her. He truly wanted to be with her, but he could not abandon his duties as the leader of the Mugen Tenshin clan. He wondered if there was a way he could make it work between them, but he knew that it was impossible for him to find. The two wanted to tell each other about what they're thinking about, but they couldn't. They did not know what to say.
But suddenly, as they turned a corner on the sidewalk, they spotted a little girl that was running up to them and screaming their names at the top of her lungs. Her long, platinum blond hair was in a mess with a ton of tangles. Her aqua eyes were pink and were streaming with tears at their sides. Her light skin was adorned with cuts of blood and bruises that were really dark. She was wearing a white karate gi that was covered with dirt and mud.
"Hitomi! Ein!"
The girl tripped over the sidewalk and fell, but Hayate quickly rushed to her and caught her before she could hit the ground hard. She was heavily breathing as she fought to catch her breath. She was extremely exhausted. Hitomi ran up to her and Hayate, worried about her terrible condition.
"Oh my god! Laura! What happened to you?"
The little girl turned her head towards Hitomi and replied with a very weak voice, "Ralph and I . . . were attacked . . . by these . . . big mean guys . . . in black . . . My big brother . . . fought them off . . . so I could escape . . . Please . . . help Ralph . . ."
Then Laura closed her eyes and lost her conscious. Worried, Hitomi lightly shook her and patted her face, trying to wake her up.
"Laura! Laura! Come on, Laura! Wake up!"
Hayate placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her, and said, "Pease stop, Hitomi. She really needs a lot of rest. Why don't you find her a safe place to recover why I find Ralph?"
Hitomi nodded her head in agreement. "Okay. I'll take her to the hospital."
She then took the little girl from Hayate and held her tightly in her arms. As she headed for the hospital, Hayate ran into the direction Laura came from.
Running through the streets, the ninja hurried as fast as he could. Ralph was only a few years older than Laura, so he would be too young to face a group of adult thugs on his own. He looked in all directions as he ran, hoping to find the boy, but he didn't, much to his dismay. Hayate could see that the sun was about to set. It was getting dark, and night was the perfect time for any gang to attack anyone. He couldn't imagine what would happen to Ralph if he didn't find him.
As he turned a sharp corner, Hayate heard a boy crying out for help and the sound of kicks and punches. He ran towards the alley where the sounds were coming from and finally found what he was looking for.
Poor little Ralph was lying on the ground and surrounded by thugs all dressed in black. The little blond haired boy tried to cover his stomach, but his attackers kept on kicking at him. His hair, face, hands and feet were all covered with mud and blood from his wounds. His karate gi was all stained with a disgusting brown color. He was in a real mess, worse than Laura's.
Realizing that he had to save the boy, Hayate quickly dashed forward and performed a flying dragon kick, knocking two nearby thugs and sending them flying to the others. They were all knocked away with such a heavy force that the ninja had more than enough time to pull the gang's victim far away to safety.
Ralph slowly opened his blue eyes and saw his mentor. With a very cracked up voice, he called out weakly, "E-Ein . . ."
Hayate pressed a finger to the boy's lips, silencing him as he spoke. "Do not try to speak now. You must rest. Leave these men to me."
Ralph gave a small smile of appreciation and silently closed his eyes. After laying the boy down, Hayate took off his black jacket and placed it on the small body as a blanket. He then turned his attention to the thugs, who were still trying to get up.
As they fully recovered, one thug yelled out, "What the hell's your problem, ass-hole? We don't like it when we get interrupted by some loser like you!"
With a calm voice, the ninja replied, "I should be the one asking you questions. Why are you hurting this boy? What has he done to provoke you into hurting him to the point of death? Whatever reason you give me, know that I will not allow you to hurt him anymore."
Then another thug cried out, "Like we care what ya think, pal! And we ain't gonna tell ya why we're beatin' up that little piece of shit, cuz we have none! We jus wanna have fun beatin' him up! But now since ya mess with our fun, we're gonna bring hell to ya! Get him!"
All at once, the gang ran towards Hayate, who calmly took his stance and readied himself for a fight. One thug ran up to him, throwing a punch in his face. But he quickly stepped to the side and tripped the thug to the ground. He then brought his hand and slammed it really hard on the thug's back, causing his foe to cry out in pain before passing out. Another thug ran up behind him and swirled a kick at him. But Hayate quickly jumped into the air and narrowly dodged the attack. As he landed behind, the thug twirled around to throw a punch. But the ninja quickly punched the thug in the stomach, and then delivered more punches in the chest before sending the thug flying with a fist punch in the face. Suddenly, two thugs with long metal poles came rushing to Hayate on both of his sides. Quickly seeing them, he jumped and did a split kick in the air, hitting his two attackers in the face and sending them flying in both directions. But as he landed, a big thug with huge muscles and arms came up behind and grabbed him. He wrapped around the ninja's arms and prevented him from getting away. As Hayate struggled to break free, another thug slowly came up to him and pulled out a pocket knife. Flicking the blade open, he plunged the weapon at the captive. But Hayate quickly kicked at the thug's hand, sending the knife flying into the air. He then flicked his head back and knocked the big thug, making his captor dizzy and unintentionally setting the ninja free. Hayate quickly twirled and kicked the big thug at the side, knocking him away. The other thug caught his pocket knife and went for Hayate again. But the ninja quickly saw him and dodged the blade. He then grabbed the thug's wrist and twisted it, causing the thug to yell out in pain and drop the weapon.
As he fell to his knees, the thug cried out, "Guys, help me out here!"
But the others were so afraid of Hayate that they all ran away, leaving him the only thug.
"Guys, wait! Don't leave me here!"
Hayate twisted his wrist more, and the thug cried out even louder. The ninja grabbed the thug's shirt with his free hand and brought his captive close to his face, staring with his piercing brown eyes, as he spoke with a threatening voice.
"If you do not want me to break your wrist, then you will answer my question from before. Why were you hurting the boy?"
The thug only replied with unclear sounds, which irritated Hayate and made him turn the wrist even more. Finally, the thug could not take it anymore and shouted, "Our boss! Our boss told us to attack students that were attending that bitch's dojo! Let me go man! My wrist's gonna break off!"
In a heat of fury, Hayate grabbed the thug's shirt with both hands and asked coldly, "When you said 'bitch', who did you mean by that?"
The thug was scared halfway to death as he answered weakly, "H-H-Hit-t-t-tom-m-mi. Our-r-r b-b-boss wa-wa-wanted us t-t-to at-t-t-tack k-ki-kids f-f-from Hitomi's old m-m-man's d-d-d-dojo."
"Why?"
"B-B-B-Boss wanted to-to buy that gi-girl's ol-old m-man's-s-s dojo, b-b-b-but she re-refused. He fi-figured sh-sh-sh-she'd give up i-i-if th-the ki-kids couldn't g-g-g-go to-to the d-dojo any-anymore."
Hayate dropped the thug with such anger in his eyes. How could someone do something so cruel like that? he thought. Who's going after Hitomi's dojo and would do anything to obtain it?
He then told the thug, "Tell your boss that his tricks won't work on Hitomi at all. She'll never give her father's dojo away, especially to someone cruel like your boss."
The thug quickly got up and ran away as fast as he could. Then Hayate walked over to Ralph, who was still unconscious, and gently picked him up into his arms. He then walked towards the direction of the hospital. Hitomi was there with Laura and he had to get there as soon as he could.
Meanwhile, at the hospital
Hitomi waited outside Laura's room, sitting on a chair and played with a few strands of her light brown hair. It's been a half-hour since she brought her student to the hospital and she was starting to become worried about a lot of different things. First off, there was Laura, who was in a very bad condition. Then there was Ralph, who was probably in a worse condition than his little sister. And finally, there were the mysterious attackers. Who were they and what did they want? Hitomi just couldn't find the answer, no matter how hard she tried.
Suddenly, she was snapped out of her thoughts when the doors near her were flung open and another cart was being wheeled into the emergency room. She got a glimpse of the patient on the cart and gasped as she realized who it was: Ralph. As she watched the boy being carried away to the ER, she felt a light hand upon her shoulder. She quickly turned around and saw that it was Hayate.
"Ein! What happened to Ralph?"
"He was beaten up badly by the gang that attacked him and his sister. He'll be alright, but right now he's in critical condition. How is Laura?"
"She's alright too. The doctor is just finishing up with her. She'll be okay too. I called their parents and told them the whole thing. They're on their way here now and will be here soon."
"That's good to hear. Hitomi . . . can I ask you something?"
"Um . . . Sure . . . Is there . . . something wrong?"
Hayate gently took her hands and they sat down on the nearby chairs. He then asked her in a really low voice, "Do you know anyone who is trying to take over your father's dojo?"
Hitomi was a bit confused by the question and asked, "Why are you asking that?"
"Because the men who attacked Ralph and Laura were ordered to beat up the students that are attending your father's dojo. Whoever is their boss, he figured that if something happened to them, then the dojo will go out of business and you would have to give it up on behalf of your father. That is why Ralph and Laura were attacked."
Hitomi's sky blue eyes widened with shock. As she looked down upon her trembling hands, questions were running through her head.
How could this be? How could something cruel as this be happening right now? I don't understand. What's going on? Why is this all happening to me?
Suddenly, she felt Hayate's hands grabbing her own. She looked and saw him gently rubbing the palms of his hands, massaging them and somewhat easing out all of the tense that were rubbing through hers.
He then asked her, "Are you alright?"
"Um . . . Yeah I'm just . . . a bit confused . . . and scared . . . About your question. There was someone who was trying to make a deal with him buying my dad's dojo. But that was like months ago, like before the fourth DOA Tournament. I remembered that I fearlessly told him no and he backed off, but after that, I never got bugged by him ever again. It was so long ago and it felt so insignificant that I don't remember his name, or even his face."
"I see . . . Well, I guess that we better look out for attacks from those men again, and we better be more prepared than this time."
"But . . . what if they keep on attacking when my dad gets back and you have to leave?"
Hayate grabbed both of Hitomi's hands firmly and straight into her eyes with his. He gave her a look of determination and confidence as he answered, "We'll have them dealt with and brought to justice before my time here in finished and before your father returns. I promise."
She gazed into his eyes and found an unwavering resolve. That brought her some comfort, knowing that he always keeps to his word. However, there was still some doubt within her heart.
They waited for a few minutes until Ralph and Laura's parents finally arrived. After explaining the whole situation, Hitomi and Hayate left the hospital and headed back home, letting the parents check on their children.
Back at Hitomi's apartment, around 10:30 p.m.
Hitomi lied in her bed but could not sleep. She just couldn't close her eyes and drift into slumber, not after everything that had just happened a few hours ago.
Who is this person who's trying to buy Dad's dojo? If only I could remember his face . . . But why is he doing this? And what would happen if Dad found out? I promised him that I would have everything under control, but now there is this chaos that's threatening the dojo. How could I ever face him?
Seeing that she could not get any rest, Hitomi pushed the covers off of herself and got up. She figured that a little walking around and maybe even a glass of warm milk would help her get sleepy. She just hoped that Hayate wasn't asleep yet.
She quietly tiptoed to her door and slowly opened it. It was almost jet black, but she knew where the kitchen was and headed for it when all of a sudden, she heard a door opened.
Hitomi gave a little yelp as she turned towards the direction of the door and saw a person emerging from within, who suddenly found the light switch and turned it on. When the lights flashed brightly, she saw that it was Hayate.
"Hitomi, what are you doing?" he asked "Is there something wrong?"
She gave out a sigh of relief and placed a hand on her chest as she breathed deeply. She was letting her imagination spook her.
"Nothing's wrong," she replied. "I just thought that you were an intruder or something. I couldn't really sleep, so I decided to get up and walk around a bit to get sleepy."
As she turned to look straight at him, she gasped and turned away with a blushed look on her face. Hayate was only wearing red pants and was rubbing his wet hair with a small towel. Little droplets of water were running down his well-trimmed chest and torso. He had just gotten out of the shower.
Hayate walked up to her and asked, "Are you sure everything's alright Hitomi?"
She turned her head slowly and looked into his eyes. She knew that there was nothing she could hide from him. Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes and she began to sniff. She just couldn't take it anymore. All of a sudden, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his chest. She then started crying, as she could not hold back the emotion of sadness within her anymore.
Hayate was a bit shocked at first at what Hitomi had just done, but then he wrapped one arm around her back and ran the fingers of his hand through her soft, light brown hair with the other arm.
He heard her voice mumbled, "I just don't understand why this all happening . . . *sniff* . . . Why now of all times? . . . *sniff, sniff* . . . I promised Dad that I would have everything under control while he's in the hospital but . . . *sniff* . . . everything's going all wrong . . . *sniff* . . . And the kids . . . *sniff* . . . What if something really bad happens to them? . . . *sniff* . . . It'll be all my fault for not protecting them and their parents will get mad at me then . . . *sniff* . . . I just can't take it anymore!"
Hayate continued to hold Hitomi in his arms as she sobbed and damped his chest with her tears. After a minute or two, her crying became quieter and he pushed her a little bit away to look her into the eyes. He saw longing within her, along with a huge need of comfort.
He then told her with a gentle voice, "It will be alright, Hitomi. No matter what is thrown in your path, you must not give up. We won't let the children get hurt because of one man's selfish desire to take over your father's dojo. And do not worry. We'll have everything under control while your father is recovering. You need to have faith in yourself, Hitomi. I believe in you. I know that you will pull through, because I'm going to make sure that you do."
Slowly, a smile formed on Hitomi's face. She was grateful that Hayate was with her with all of this chaos going on. If he wasn't there with her, she wouldn't know what to do and would have just lost her nerve. He was like her pillar of support.
He then asked her, "Are you feeling better?"
She sheepishly nodded and gave out a yawn. She was starting to get tired.
Hayate chuckled at her a little before he said, "Looks like you're getting tired, now. Well, good night, then."
"Wait, hold on."
"What?"
Hitomi stumbled with her words, as she felt a little bit embarrassed as to what she was going to ask of him. But she found her courage and asked him, "Could you . . . stay with me until I fall asleep? . . . You know, uh, stay by my bed until I'm asleep?"
Hayate was at bit surprised by her request, but then understood that she was still a bit uneasy, so he nodded and replied, "Alright."
He then followed her as she went into her room, and then helped her climb into bed. After making sure that everything was okay, he pulled up a nearby chair and grabbed her hand, rubbing her palm with his thumb.
"Try to sleep now, Hitomi. I'll be here until then."
"Okay . . . Thank you . . . Hayate . . ."
It didn't take long before she finally fell asleep. Hayate then got up and leaned over her. She was truly beautiful when she was asleep.
If only I could watch her sleep every night, he thought. If only we could be together . . .
All of a sudden, Hayate found himself leaning his head forward to Hitomi's face. For one split second, he lightly pressed his lips against hers. Realizing what he had just done, Hayate carefully and quietly backed away from the bed and exited her room. After he silently closed the door, he made his way toward the couch bed and flopped himself on it.
He looked at the ceiling, not believing what had just happened. One question was echoing throughout his mind.
Why did I kiss her?
He heavily sighed, closed his eyes, and drifted off into peaceful slumber.
Whew! Well that one took a long time to write! I'll get the next chapter in ASAP. And hopefully there won't be any big problems anymore. Please leave reviews!
